Oliver Clarke produced another strong performance in the BRDC British F3 Championship this past weekend (August 29/30) around the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit, scoring a quartet of points finishes – the best of which being a fourth place in race two.

Coming off the back of his first podium of the season at Donington Park last time out, the Hillspeed driver was keen to build on the momentum he had built up across the opening month of the 2020 season.

Getting to grips with the 2.43-mile circuit across Friday’s four practice sessions, the 17-year-old endured a frustrating start to his weekend on Saturday as a small mistake in damp conditions during qualifying saw him skate into the Druids gravel trap and ultimately fail to set a lap time.

Subsequently starting from the back of the grid for the opening encounter, the Torq Racewear athlete wasted no time in moving forward as he made up five places on the first tour. Following a brief safety car period, Clarke settled into a groove and made up a fourth spot before the end to finish ninth.

Lining up in sixth for the second race of the weekend, the King’s Lynn ace underlined why he shows all the hallmarks of being a future race-winner as he narrowly missed out on a second podium of the season.

Jumping up two spots during the opening stages, Clarke began to hound the top three and would continue to do so throughout the race. Unable to find a way past however, Clarke ultimately settled for fourth place and banked a solid haul of points.

Race three was to be one of pure attrition as the Fewkes Sport Management driver had to once again start from the back of the grid due to his qualifying woes. Surviving a frenetic opening few laps which subsequently caused a red flag stoppage, Clarke kept his nose clean on the restart to cross the line in 11th.

Clarke capped off his weekend with another consistent drive as he competed a clean sweep of race finishes in 12th place.

Following the third event of the season in the single-seater category, Clarke sits 12th in the overall Drivers’ Championship.

Oliver Clarke:

I think it is fair to say it has been a bit of a rollercoaster weekend. Failing to set a time in qualifying put us on the back foot and we were playing catch up from that point onwards.

“We did the best job we could and to come away with fourth place in race two was really encouraging. We’ve got the pace to mix it towards the front, we just need the consistency – that will come in time.

“Overall, four points finishes is not something to be disappointed and I made progress every time I was in the car.

“It’s been a busy month but we’ve now got time to take a second to relax and take stock of things. There are plenty of positives and negatives to look at across the opening three events so we’ll look at where we’re strong and where we can improve to ensure we’re in the mix next time.”

The BRDC British F3 Championship returns to action on September 19/20, making the second of three visits this year to Donington Park. 

Oliver Clarke showed his fighting spirit at Donington Park this past weekend (August 15/16) to master the wet weather on his way to a first-ever podium finish in the BRDC British F3 Championship.

Coming off the back of an encouraging debut at Oulton Park which yielded three top seven finishes, the Hillspeed driver found himself in the thick of the action at the Leicestershire venue but took on a starring role in race two to claim his first piece of silverware behind the wheel of a car.

Showcasing encouraging speed across Thursday and Friday’s practice sessions under the flightpath of East Midlands airport, the 17-year-old endured a frustrating start to his weekend on Saturday in dry conditions.

Despite setting the 11th fastest time in what proved to be an ultra-competitive qualifying session, Clarke was later deemed to have failed to comply with yellow flag signals which subsequently saw him disqualified, affecting his grid position for races one and three.

Starting 17th for the opening encounter, the Torq Racewear athlete set about making amends following his qualifying woes and was soon on the move as he fought his way up the order. Making up a handful of spots early on, Clarke ran 14th for a majority of the race before pulling off a string of masterful overtakes on the last lap to cross the line in 11th.

However, a timing error meant the chequered flag was inadvertently delayed and shown incorrectly at the end of lap 13, with the regulation distance actually being 12 laps. Counting back one lap in accordance with Motorsport UK regulations, Clarke’s sensational hard work was undone as he was ultimately classified in 14th.

Greeted by rain for the first of Sunday’s two races, the Fewkes Sport Management racer lined up in fifth virtue of the reverse grid and he made the most of his lofty third row starting spot.

As the lights went out, Clarke’s wet weather prowess came to the fore and he was soon into the top three by the second tour, exploring the levels of grip and underlining his eye-catching car control.

Finding a way past Carter Williams as the race reached the halfway marker, Clarke ran comfortably in second place for a number of laps before being shuffled back to third on lap seven. From there, the former karting ace fended off the challenge of Guilherme Peixoto to cross the line for his first podium in the series.

Sadly Clarke’s second weekend in the single-seater category came to a close with a technical issue forcing him to make an unscheduled pit-stop early on, dropping him down the order and out of contention of a good result.

Leaving Donington Park, Clarke sits 12th in the overall Drivers’ Championship after the first seven races of the 2020 campaign.

Oliver Clarke:

“It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster weekend but to come away with my first British F3 podium is amazing; I’m really happy that I’ve been able to tick that box now.

“I didn’t get the best of starts but managed to remain in the mix around the first few corners and that set me up for the rest of the race. It was difficult to stay on the track and I outbraked myself a few times but once I got into a groove I felt really comfortable, especially as I’d never driven round here before in the wet.

“To come away with a first podium in just my second event is really encouraging moving forward. I’ve got to say a huge thank you to my team, family, loyal sponsors and partners – without them this wouldn’t have been possible.

“Aside from the podium it has been a difficult weekend where things didn’t fall our way. It’s all a learning process though and we will take what we’ve learnt here and see what improvements can be made heading into the next event.”

The BRDC British F3 Championship now heads to Brands Hatch on August 29/30, with four races scheduled to play out around the legendary Grand Prix layout of the Kent venue.

Oliver Clarke made a solid start to his 2020 BRDC British F3 Championship season at Oulton Park this past weekend (August 1/2), claiming an impressive trio of top seven finishes.

After months of anticipation and excitement, the single-seater category roared into life with four pulsating encounters being played out around the Cheshire venue in front of a bumper crowd.

Having enjoyed a competitive two days of running prior to the event, the Hillspeed driver entered qualifying on Saturday in a buoyant mood and produced a best lap of 1:31.842 to secure seventh on the grid for the opening encounter. Had it not been for traffic whilst on two faster laps, Clarke could have been even higher.

Lining up on the inside of the fourth row for the season-opener, the Torq Racewear athlete dropped to tenth after a tricky opening lap but soon began to show his fighting spirit as he battled his was back up the order.

Sizing up those ahead of him, Clarke made a move in the closing stages with a daring overtake at Cascades to cross the line in eighth. Following a post-race time penalty for a driver ahead of him, that was to become seventh for the King’s Lynn racer.

Clarke produced another top ten performance in the race two as he once again claimed a seventh place finish. Moving up a spot on the opening tour, the multiple karting champion found himself on the back of a train of cars all dicing for fourth throughout the entirety of the 13-lap race.

Despite having stronger pace than those ahead of him, the teenage sensation was unable to find a way through and ultimately settled for another solid haul of points.

Returning to the track on Sunday to round off the weekend, race three – streamed live online – saw the 17-year-old deliver another eye-catching top ten performance as he ran competitively throughout the 20-minute encounter to finish seventh.

After the race, another post-race penalty for a fellow competitor proved beneficial for Clarke as it resulted in the Fewkes Sport Management ace being promoted to sixth.

Bringing the curtain down on what proved to be a successful first event in the series, Clarke piloted his striking red and gold machine to 12th at the chequered flag after starting 13th.

Leaving Oulton Park, Clarke finds himself sitting eighth in the Drivers’ Championship.

Oliver Clarke:

“It has been a really solid start to the season; to come with four finishes, three of them in the top seven and plenty of improvements having been made I can’t be too unhappy.

“Coming into the weekend I felt more prepared than I ever have done before and I think that has shown. We made steady improvements in practice and managed to hook a good lap up in qualifying; had it not been for traffic I think I would have been even higher.

“To run comfortably inside the top ten in three of the four race is massively encouraging and we know where we can get better as well. I’ve got to say a huge thank you to everyone at Hillspeed and all of my sponsors – I wouldn’t be able to do it without them.

“We’ve now got a little time to look at how we performed and where we can make progress so I’m looking forward to Donington Park in a couple of weeks.”

The BRDC British F3 Championship continues on August 15/16, making the first of three visits to Donington Park this season.